The Deccan Plateau is a large plateau in India, making up most of the southern part of the
country. It rises a hundred metres high in the north, and more than a kilometre high
in the south, forming a raised triangle within the familiar downward-pointing triangle of
the Indian subcontinent's coastline. It extends over eight Indian states and encompasses
a wide range of habitats, covering most of central and southern India.
It is located between two mountain ranges, the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats. Each
rises from its respective nearby coastal plain. They almost meet at the southern tip of India.
The Deccan Plateau is separated from the Gangetic plain to the north by the Satpura and Vindhya
Ranges, which form its northern boundary. The name Deccan is an anglicised form of the
Bengali word dakkhin, itself derived from the Sanskrit word dákṣiṇa, meaning "south".
Geography
The Western Ghats Mountain Range is very tall and blocks the moisture from the southwest
monsoon from reaching the Deccan Plateau, so the region receives very little rainfall.
The eastern Deccan Plateau is at a lower elevation spanning the southeastern coast of India.
Its forests are also relatively dry but serve to retain the rain to form streams that feed
into rivers that flow into basins and then into the Bay of Bengal.
Most Deccan plateau rivers flow south. Most of the northern part of the plateau is drained
by the Godavari River and its tributaries, including the Indravati River, starting from
the Western Ghats and flowing east towards the Bay of Bengal. Most of the central plateau
is drained by the Tungabhadra River, Krishna River and its tributaries, including the Bhima
River, which also run east. The southernmost part of the plateau is drained by the Kaveri
River, which rises in the Western Ghats of Karnataka and bends south to break through
the Nilgiri Hills at the island town of Shivanasamudra and then falls into Tamil Nadu at Hogenakal
Falls before flowing into the Stanley Reservoir and the Mettur Dam that created the reservoir,
and finally emptying into the Bay of Bengal. The two main rivers which do not flow into
the Bay Of Bengal are the Narmada and Tapti. They start in the central India and flow into
the Arabian Sea. All Deccan plateau rivers depend on rains and dry up in the summers.
Climate The climate of the region varies from semi-arid
in the north to tropical in most of the region with distinct wet and dry seasons. Rain falls
during the monsoon season from about June to October. March to June can be very dry
and hot, with temperatures regularly exceeding 40 °C. The Deccan plateau is a topographically
variegated region located south of the Gangetic plains-the portion lying between the Arabian
Sea and the Bay of Bengal-and includes a substantial area to the north of the Vindhya Range, which
has popularly been regarded as the divide between northern India and the Deccan. The
name derives from the Sanskrit daksina. The plateau is bounded on the east and west by
the Ghats, while its northern extremity is the Satpura Range. The Deccan's average elevation
is about 2,000 feet, sloping generally eastward; its principal rivers, the Godavari, Krishna,
and Cauvery, flow from the Western Ghats eastward to the Bay of Bengal. The plateau's climate
is drier than that on the coasts and is arid in places. Although sometimes used to mean
all of India south of the Narmada River, the word Deccan relates more specifically to that
area of rich volcanic soils and lava-covered plateaus in the northern part of the peninsula
between the Narmada and Krishna rivers. Having once constituted a segment of the ancient
continent of Gondwanaland, this land is the oldest and most stable in India. The Deccan
plateau consists of dry tropical forests that experiences only seasonal rainfall
On the western edge of the plateau lie the Sahyadri, the Nilgiri, the Annamalai and the
Cardamon Hills, commonly known as Western Ghats. The average height of the Western Ghats,
which run along the Arabian Sea, goes on increasing towards the south. Anamudi Peak in Kerala,
with a height of 2,695 m above sea level, is the highest peak of peninsular India. In
the Nilgiris lie Ootacamund, the well-known hill station of southern India. The western
coastal plain is uneven and swift rivers flow through it that forms beautiful lagoons and
backwaters, examples of which can be found in the state of Kerala. The east coast is
wide with deltas formed by the rivers Godavari, Mahanadi and Kaveri. Flanking the Indian peninsula
on the western side are the Lakshadweep Islands in the Arabian Sea and on the eastern side
lies the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal.
The eastern Deccan plateau, called Telangana, is made of vast sheets of massive granite
rock, which effectively traps rainwater. Under the thin surface layer of soil is the impervious
gray granite bedrock. It rains here only during some months.
Comprising the northeastern part of the Deccan Plateau, the Telangana Plateau has an area
of about 148,000 km2, a north-south length of about 770 km, and an east-west width of
about 515 km. The plateau is drained by the Godavari River
taking a southeasterly course; by the Krishna River, which divides the peneplain into two
regions; and by the Penneru River flowing in a northerly direction. The plateau's forests
are moist deciduous, dry deciduous, and tropical thorn.
Most of the population of the region is engaged in agriculture; cereals, oilseeds, cotton,
and pulses are the major crops. There are multipurpose irrigation and hydroelectric-power
projects, including the Pochampad, Bhaira Vanitippa, and Upper Penneru. Industries produce
cotton textiles, sugar, foodstuffs, tobacco, paper, machine tools, and pharmaceuticals.
Cottage industries are forest-based and mineral-based. The Deccan Traps
The northwestern part of the plateau is made up of lava flows or igneous rocks known as
the Deccan Traps. The rocks are spread over the whole of Maharashtra and parts of Gujarat
and Madhya Pradesh, thereby making it one of the largest volcanic provinces in the world.
It consists of more than 2,000 metres of flat-lying basalt lava flows and covers an area of nearly
500,000 square kilometres in west-central India. Estimates of the original area covered
by the lava flows are as high as 1,500,000 square kilometres. The volume of basalt is
estimated to be 512,000 cubic km. The thick dark soil found here is suitable for cotton
cultivation. Geology
The volcanic basalt beds of the Deccan were laid down in the massive Deccan Traps eruption,
which occurred towards the end of the Cretaceous period between 67 and 66 million years ago.
Some paleontologists speculate that this eruption may have accelerated the extinction of the
dinosaurs. Layer after layer was formed by the volcanic activity that lasted many thousands
of years, and when the volcanoes became extinct, they left a region of highlands with typically
vast stretches of flat areas on top like a table.The volcanic hotspot that produced the
Deccan traps is hypothesized to lie under the present day island of Réunion in the
Indian Ocean. Typically the Deccan Plateau is made up of
basalt extending up to Bhor Ghat near Karjat. This is an extrusive igneous rock. Also in
certain sections of the region, we can find granite, which is an intrusive igneous rock.
The difference between these two rock types is: basalt rock forms on eruption of lava,
that is, on the surface, while granite forms deep within the Earth. Granite is a felsic
rock, meaning it is rich in potassium feldspar and quartz. This composition is continental
in origin. Since it cooled relatively slowly, it has large visible crystals. Basalt, on
the other hand, is mafic in composition—meaning it is rich in pyroxene and, in some cases,
olivine, both of which are Mg-Fe rich minerals. Basalt is similar in composition to mantle
rocks, indicating that it came from the mantle and did not mix with continental rocks. Basalt
forms in areas that are spreading, whereas granite forms mostly in areas that are colliding.
Since both rocks are found in the Deccan Plateau, it indicates two different environments of
formation. The Deccan is rich in minerals. Primary mineral
ores found in this region are mica and iron ore in the Chhota Nagpur region, and diamonds,
gold and other metals in the Golconda region. People
The Deccan is home to many languages and people. Bhil and Gond people live in the hills along
the northern and northeastern edges of the plateau, and speak various languages that
belong to both the Indo-European and Dravidian families of languages. Marathi, an Indo-Aryan
language, is the main language of the north-western Deccan in the state of Maharashtra. Speakers
of Telugu and Kannada, the predominant languages of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka
respectively, occupy those states' portions of the plateau. Tamil is the main language
of Tamil Nadu to the south of the plateau, and Malayalam that of the hills and coast
to the south-west, in the state of Kerala. The city of Hyderabad is an important center
of Urdu language in the Deccan; its surrounding areas also host a notable population of Urdu
speakers. The Urdu dialect spoken in this region is also known as Dakhini or as Deccani.
North of Andhra is the state of Odisha. People speak the language Oriya here.
The chief crop is cotton; also common are sugarcane, rice, and other crops.
Apart from the states already mentioned, the state of Chhattisgarh is found in the northeast
corner of the plateau. The three large cities in the Deccan are Hyderabad the capital of
Telangana, Bangalore the capital of Karnataka and Pune, the cultural hub of Maharashtra.
Other major cities include Mysore in Karnataka, Coimbatore and Salem in Tamil Nadu, Nagpur,
Amravati, Sangli, Nanded and Aurangabad in Maharashtra and Raipur in Chhattisgarh and
Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Guntur, Kakinada,Eluru, Rajahmundry in Andhra Pradesh and Warangal,
Karimnagar, Nizamabad, Mahbubnagar in Telangana. History
Of the early history, the main facts established are the growth of the Mauryan empire and the
invasion of the Scythic tribes known as the Sakas, Pahlavas and Yavanas, which led to
the establishment of the power of the Kshaharata satraps in western India. Prominent dynasties
of this time include the Cholas, Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas, Hoysalas, Kakatiya and Vijayanagara
Empire. Ahir Kings once ruled over the Deccan. A cave inscription at Nasik refers to the
reign of an Abhira prince named Ishwarsena, son of Shivadatta.
In 1294, Alauddin Khilji, emperor of Delhi, invaded the Deccan, stormed Devagiri, and
reduced the Yadava rajas of Maharashtra to the position of tributary princes, then proceeding
southward to conquer the Telangana and Carnatic. In 1307, a fresh series of Muslim incursions
led by Malik Kafur began in response to unpaid tributes, resulting in the final ruin of the
Yadava power; and in 1338 the conquest of the Deccan was completed by Sultan Muhammad
bin Tughluq. The imperial hegemony was brief, as soon Telingana and Karnataka reverted to
their former masters. These defections by the Hindu states was soon followed by a general
revolt of the Muslim governors, resulting in the establishment in 1347 of the independent
Muslim dynasty of Bahmani. The power of the Delhi sultanate evaporated south of the Narmada
River.
In the power struggles which ensued, the Hindu kingdom of Telingana fell bit by bit to the
Bahamani dynasty, who advanced their frontier to Golkonda in 1373, to Warangal in 1421,
and to the Bay of Bengal in 1472. When the Bahmani empire dissolved in 1482, its dominions
were distributed into the five Muslim states of Golkonda, Bijapur, Ahmednagar, Bidar and
Berar, giving rise to the Deccan sultanates. South of these, the Hindu state of Carnatic
or Vijayanagar still survived; but this, too, was destroyed, at the Battle of Talikota by
a league of the Muslim powers. Berar had already been annexed by Ahmednagar in 1572, and Bidar
was absorbed by Bijapur in 1619. Mughal interest in the Deccan also rose at this time; Ahmadnagar
was partially incorporated in the Empire in 1598 and as fully in 1636, Bijapur in 1686,
and Golkonda in 1688. In 1674, Shivaji laid the foundation of the
Maratha Empire which within 75 years of his death covered territory of over 250 million
acres or one-third of the Indian sub-continent. Marathas under Shivaji directly challenged
the foreign rule of the Bijapur Sultanate and ultimately the mighty Mughal empire. Once
the Bijapur Sultanate stopped being a threat to the Maratha Empire, Marathas became much
more aggressive and began to frequently raid Mughal territory. The Marathas had conquered
part of central and western India by Shivaji Maharaj's death in 1680. After Shivaji, Sambhaji
defended the Maratha empire from the Mughal onslaught led by Aurangzeb. Peshwas began
commanding Maratha armies after the execution of Sambhaji. After 1707, the Marathas acquired
the right to levy tribute in southern India. After the death of Chhatrapati Shahu, the
Peshwas became the de facto leaders of the Empire from 1749 to 1761, while Shivaji's
successors continued as nominal rulers from their base in Satara. The Marathas kept the
British at bay during the 18th century. By 1760, with the defeat of the Nizam in the
Deccan, Maratha power had reached its zenith. However, dissension between the Peshwa and
their sardars saw a gradual downfall of the Empire leading to its eventual annexation
by the British East India Company in 1818 after the three Anglo-Maratha wars.
A few years later, the Aurangzeb's viceroy in Ahmednagar, Nizam-ul-Mulk, established
the seat of an independent government at Hyderabad in 1724. Mysore was ruled by Hyder Ali. During
the contests for power which ensued from about the middle of the 18th century between the
powers on the plateau, the French and British took opposite sides. After a brief course
of triumph, the interests of France declined, and a new empire in India was established
by the British. Mysore formed one of their earliest conquests in the Deccan. Tanjore
and the Carnatic were soon annexed to their dominions, followed by the Peshwa territories
in 1818. In British India, the plateau was largely
divided between the presidencies of Bombay and Madras. The two largest native states
at that time were Hyderabad State and Mysore State; many smaller states existed at the
time, including Kolhapur, Sawantwari, Travancore, and Cochin.
After independence in 1947, almost all native states were incorporated into the Republic
of India. Hyderabad refused to join, and was annexed by the Indian Army in Operation Polo
in 1948. In 1956, the States Reorganisation Act reorganized states along linguistic lines,
leading to the states currently found on the plateau.
See also Maratha Empire
Maratha Geography of India
South India Mysore Plateau
Vijayanagara Empire Kakatiya dynasty
Bayaluseemae Notes
References This article incorporates text from a publication
now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed.. Encyclopædia Britannica. Cambridge University
Press.
External links Destruction along the Deccan plateau
Photos of Deccan Plateau Dynasties of Deccan
Deccan Plateau Info